Sri Lanka receives Naval Vessel from India

[September 06 2017]

An Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), earlier owned by the
Indian Coast Guard has been officially handed over to Sri Lanka by the
Indian Government. According to Navy media, the official handing over
ceremony was held on Tuesday (05th September) at the Port of Kochi in
India.

The ceremony saw the ship being officially handed over
to the Director General of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, Rear Admiral
Samantha Wimalathunge by the Director General of the Indian Coast Guard,
Vice Admiral Rajendra Singh.

The 74.10m long and 11.4m wide OPV, has a displacement
of 1,180 tons and can travel at 22 nautical miles per hour. It can carry
a crew of 10 officers and 98 sailors. The vessel is capable of covering
a distance of 8,500 nautical miles at speeds of 16 nautical miles per
hour. With its onboard helipad, the vessel can also accommodate the
latest light helicopters.

The Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) will use the vessel
for patrolling and surveillance of the country's territorial waters,
humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, prevention of
maritime pollution and for training purposes. The vessel is expected to
leave the Indian Port on 14th (September) upon the completion of
familiarization of its operational and technical procedures. The vessel
will join the SLCG fleet after being assigned the pennant number, CG 60.

Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy, Rear Admiral
Sirimevan Ranasinghe, Additional Director General of the Indian Coast
Guard, Mr. K. Natarajan, Chief of Staff of India's Southern Naval
Command, Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni and senior officers of Navies as Coast
Guards of both countries were present at the handing over ceremony.